As always, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the “worth” of what I create, which I manage to translate into some kind of measure of my own worth.
Why do I bother making anything?
Why bother trying to appeal to others and not just myself?
How much longer will people be interested in what I make?
Will I always compare my work to that of others?
Why aren’t my creative endeavors more successful?
And how is that supposed to happen without me hustling even a little bit?
Do any of those questions’ answers really matter? Isn’t it about having fun, scratching that itch and just doing what I’ve got to do?
So, I decided to listen to the most recent episode of You Made it Weird where Mike Birbiglia was the guest. They talked about the Birbiglia’s new movie Don’t Think Twice, and it was the right conversation for me at the right time.
The points that most hit home were that as an artist — whether your medium is sketch comedy or acrylics — what you do isn’t needed by anyone. Because of that you need to find something in it that you genuinely love, because you most likely won’t be able to survive on good feedback from others.
And, when jealousy was brought up one of the two said that he tells himself that if you’re going to be jealous of someone’s success you have to imagine taking on all aspects of a person’s life.
Then, after those two talking me down and helping me see that there’s no harm in keeping on keeping on, Morgan and I saw “Florence Foster Jenkins.” It is charming as hell. And, sure, she was a not a good singer, but she still loved music and pursued her passion. Do I want to be mocked? No. Do I want to pursue the things that stir my soul? Yes!
And then, to validate all of the reaffirming thoughts that drifted into my head over the past day, a friend posted this quote on Facebook: Be your own biggest fan today.
I don’t toot my own horn all that often, but it’s nice to remember that it’s OK if I do.
So, here I go … off to follow my bliss.
p.s. The quotes/art are from my 2016 page-a-day Today is Going to Be a Great Day! calendar. It’s pretty great!